The Phoenix of Tennis
by XxXDarkAngel369XxX
Summary: Mika Tsubasa is the best friend of Ryoma Echizen. She has been living with the Echizens for a while and decided to move to Japan with them. She becomes friends with all the regulars on the tennis team at her and Ryoma's school Seigaku but she seems to be hiding something from them. Why is she so knowledgable of tennis when she doesn't play. (Full Summary inside)
1. Summary

Mika Tsubasa, a very quiet, gorgeous and mature girl is the best friend of Ryoma Echizen, the Prince of Tennis. Mika's mother had died giving birth to her and her dad had recently died in a car crash. Mika had been living with the Echizens for a while and decided to move back to Japan with them. She becomes friends with all the regulars on the tennis team at her and Ryoma's new school Seigaku. All the regulars love Mika but she seems to be hiding something from them. Why is she so knowledgable of tennis? Why does she always seem tense when people talk about the famous, anonymous Phoenix of Tennis?


	2. Chapter 1

Mika and Ryoma walked around the train station, looking for the way to the tennis matches. Mika glanced over to her right and saw the girl, dressed in a pink sweater and a blue skirt with long braids that was on the train (but Mika and Ryoma didn't know that) standing there. "Ne Ryo, lets ask her where the tennis matches are being held." He nodded with a small smile, looking down at Mika. They made their way over to the girl. "Hey, do you know where the Kakeukozawa tennis courts are?" Ryoma inquired, staring at her with his cat-like eyes. Sakuno looked up at the duo and gasped. "Huh!? Oh it's you guys! Wow what a coincidence, I'm going to the tennis courts too to meet my Grandma!" She exclaimed. "Are you two in the tournament? I don't know much about tennis but I love it!" Both Ryoma and Mika sweat dropped. "There where?" he asked again, stepping back a little closer to Mika because girl had moved forward while she was babbling. Mika automatically grabbed the back of Ryoma's jacket. "Oh! I'm sorry! Um, go out the south exit and then go straight ahead." She pointed the way. "Thanks a lot." Ryoma nodded to her. "See ya." They walked away from her, going towards the south entrance. Sakuno watched the pair walk away. She stared at the bag the boy was carrying. Stitched on it was the name Ryoma E. "Ryoma... His name is Ryoma. I wonder what the girls name is?"

A while later Sakuno's Grandmother, Ryuzaki Sumire came to pick her up. "Grandma you're late! You're half and hour late! What the heck took you so long to get here?" Sakuno exclaimed. "Yeah I know I'm running a little late but lets go!" Her grandmother replied, smiling at Sakuno. Ryuzaki turned towards the north exit and started walking. "Thats the north exit!" Sakuno pointed out. "I know that. To get to the tennis courts you walk out the north exit and go straight ahead." Ryuzaki reminded her. "Come on lets go! We'll be late!" Ryuzaki began walking again out the north exit. Sakuno gasped "The north exit? Oh no I can't believe I gave them the wrong directions!"

Sakuno frantically looked for the Ryoma boy and the mysterious girl he was with. Ryuzaki watched her confused. "What are you so upset about? Are you looking for someone you know?" "Grandma, if a player is late for a match... what happens?" Sakuno asked worriedly. "It means he defaults." Ryuzaki answered plainly. "D-defaults?" questioned Sakuno, who stopped looking for the boy and girl and looked behind her at her grandmother. "Yep, thats it, he's out." Ryuzaki answered cheerfully. Sakuno was really upset now. "Uh oh I'm in trouble now, uh I got to go!" With that, she ran off. Her grandmother watched her run away. "I wonder what thats all about?" She pondered. "Be sure to stay close Sakuno!" she yelled as an afterthought at her granddaughters retreating form.

Mika was lying down in the grass, reading a book about tennis. Ryoma's head was rested on her stomach, his hat pulled over his eyes and his tennis bag resting by their side. Sakuno ran up to them slightly panting. "Uh, excuse me?" Mika and Ryoma looked up at the same time to see a the girl from the train station standing in front of them. "Did you make it to your match?" she asked, more to Ryoma because he was the one with the tennis bag. "I was late, I defaulted." Ryoma replied, looking back down. He subconsciously started to play with the bottom hem of Mika's black hoodie. "I'm so sorry!" Sakuno bowed, looking like she was going to cry. "It's fine." Mika said, trying to comfort Sakuno. She still looked dejected. "Was is all my fault?" she asked, looking down at her feet. Ryoma sat up, "You bet. It was your double fault." Mika looked at Ryoma and nudged him, telling him to apologize. Before he could, seeing as Mika would be mad if he didn't, Sakuno clasped her hands together, looking happy again. "I know you wanna get a soda?"

Three grape ponta's fell down the chute of the vending machine. Ryoma grabbed them, handing one to Sakuno and one to Mika. "Here" "Thanks Ryo." Mika thanked Ryoma, kissing his cheek. He gave a quick smile, to fast for Sakuno to see but just enough for Mika to see. "I'm sorry, I didn't have any change." Sakuno said looking sad again. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out with those guys on the train. Those bullies were really giving me a hard time." All three of them sat down, Mika in the middle, Ryoma on her right and Sakuno on her left. "What do you mean?" Mika and Ryoma asked, Mika tilting her head to the side inquisitively, her beautiful piercing green eyes and Ryoma's cat-like golden ones staring at her. She fidgeted with her ponta in hand. "If you hadn't said anything, one of them was going to hit me with his racket! At least I thought so." She concluded. "You were on the train? Where were you sitting?" Ryoma asked, perfectly seriously. Mika sweat dropped, shaking her head at Ryoma's bad observation skills. "Ryo, at least don't make it so obvious you didn't know..." she said, lightly shoving Ryoma with her shoulder playfully. "I was right across from you..." Sakuno surprised at Ryoma. "It was nothing really," Ryoma stated, leaning back on the bench. Mika leaned her head on his shoulder again, closing her eyes. "I just wanted those clowns to shut up. They were giving Mi a headache." He stated matera factly before drinking more of his ponta. A can shot right past Mika's head, right where it would have been if she hadn't of leaned it on Ryoma's shoulder. All three middle schoolers turned around to see the three high schoolers who were on the train walking up behind them. "To bad we're bothering you, chump." The leader yelled at Ryoma. "Its that kid again huh." Stated the black haired one of the followers. "All talk, looks like he's already headed home loser!" yelled the other brown haired one. The leader poked his racked at Ryoma, lifting up his beloved hat. "I'm the top seed in boys 16 kid, and don't you forget it, though I dare you to tell me to be quiet again you twerp, and I'll fix ya." Ryoma just stared at him, most likely intimidating him. "What you lookin at huh?" The high schooler asked, getting flustered. "This brats gotta play a boat load of tennis to get a tenth as good as I am. I'll make you sorry creep!" He raised his racket and brought it down towards the trio. Sakuno screamed and covered her face with her hands while ducking down. Ryoma just kept staring while Mika glared at the high schoolers. The red headed leader stopped the racket right before it hit Ryoma's face. Sakuno sighed in relief that it didn't hit Ryoma or Mika. The red head growled at the boy middle schooler. "Come on dude lets go!" exclaimed the brown haired high schooler. They started walking away from the middle school trio. "Hey, still remember that grip I taught you?" Ryoma asked, picking up the can they threw at them. "What!?" yelled the red head angrily. "Ryoma." Mika warned, her eyes narrowing slightly. Ryoma threw the can away in the trash. Then turned around to face the high schoolers. "Hey if you do, I'd be happy to teach you some more." He stated cockily, tugging the edge of his hat. Mika face palmed and looked up at Ryoma with an irk mark on her forehead.

All six people stood on the tennis court. Sasabe you've got a match to play later, are you sure you want to do this?" one of the red heads friend asked him. "Destroying the kid will be the perfect warm up to beating my next opponent" He grinned, bouncing the tennis ball with his hand. Mika who was sitting on the bench in the tennis courts with Ryoma and Sakuno, growled under her breath, still glaring at the stupid cocky redhead. Ryoma, who was tying his tennis shoes, placed a hand on Mika's knee, squeezing lightly, reassuring her it will be fine. "Ryoma I think you should think twice about this!" Sakuno said worriedly. "I may as well play, it's dumb to go home without warming up my serve." He stood up and took of his jacket. "Hey Mi, hold this." He told Mika before bending down and kissing her temple. She nodded and took the jacket from his arms. He walked onto the court. "Best of one set match, Sasabi to serve." One of the high schoolers yelled out. "We don't need any line judges well call it our selves, ok?" "Fine with me." Ryoma said, unfazed by the request. "All right kid, don't worry, I'll give you a little handicap, I'll serve to you under handed." Sasabi said sarcastically. Sakuno's grandmother came and stood next to Sakuno and Mika. "So this is where you've run away to." "Grandma you're here!" Sakuno said relieved. "This is gonna get interesting." Ryuzaki, her arms crossed and her eyes trained on the game. "Don't just stand there! You've got to do something!" Sakuno exclaimed heatedly "Grandma these high school bullies are going to kill my friend Ryoma, he's just a little kid! Right Mika?" She asked me turning her head to look at me. "Ryo is fine." I reassured her. "She's right. you saw that return serve, this match is gonna be good." The match continued on, everyone except Ryuzaki and Mika amazed at how Ryoma could return Sasabi's best serve. "He's good!" Sakuno was amazed. "Oh don't underestimate him." Ryuzaki warned Sakuno. "He's just getting warmed up." Mika finished for her, softly smiling. "Grandma you know that boy? I just met him and Mika here on the train." "What you mean I didn't tell you? That boy is the Prince of Tennis."

"Ryoma Echizen, 12 years old. He breezed through the United States juniors with incredible ease. He won four times in a row. The kids the real deal." Ryuzaki stated. "Four times in a row?!" Sakuno exclaimed, amazed at how good Ryoma was at tennis. "He's the son of my best student. The family's been away for a long time. They only got back a while ago. Ryoma is still unknown here but when I heard he was going to enter this tournament I told him if he really had talent he should enter the boys 14, but get this, Ryoma said if he was going to play, he wanted to play in the 16 year old division. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, a real competitor, just like his dad." Ryuzaki sounded proud. "The only person I've heard of that is the same age as him and he couldn't beat was the Phoenix of Tennis. I heard when the Phoenix plays, it looks like theres a pair of fiery wings coming from his back and theres fire surrounding him. He makes the game look like a beautiful dance, yet no one knows who he is or his true identity. He's a mystery to everyone." Mika tensed, her back going ridged. "Why are they talking about him?!" She thought, slightly afraid. Mika tugged the edge of her cap downward, shadowing her face a bit more. She relaxed again when Ryuzaki and Sakuno stopped talking and refocused on the match. Ryoma was beating Sasami by slicing the lob and dropping it at the line. "Stupid brat!" Sasabi yelled, throwing his racket at Ryoma's face. Ryoma fell to the ground, holding his face. Sakuno and Ryuzaki gasped. Mika winced but didn't make a move to help him. "Oops, sorry. The racket just slipped out of my hand." Sasabi said, sarcastically. Sakuno ran forward to help Ryoma. "Don't step on court during a match." Ryoma said, roughly pushing Sakuno away. "B-but." Sakuno stuttered. "You still having problems with your grip? Mada mada dane." I smirked at his saying. Sakuno walked back over to Mika and Ryuzaki. "He'll be fine." I said, smiling. She still looked worried but smiled back. Ryoma served the ball just so it hit Sasabi's face. He kept on aiming and hitting the high schoolers face. "Set and match to Ryoma Echizen." The high schoolers said in amazement. "He did it, Ryoma actually won!" Sakuno shouted happily. "No way! I let that punk kid win! Give me one more set and I'll win!" Sasabi yelled at his friends. "Don't be a sore loser man! Just admit it the kid won the game fare and square!" "That's ok, I don't mind playing again." Ryoma said, shocking the high schoolers. He switched his racket into his left hand. "Give it up already. Don't you get it, no matter how many times you play him you're not going to beat Ryoma Echizen." Ryuzaki shouted at Sasabi. "Why shouldn't I?" asked Sasabi defiantly. "Because... He's left handed." Mika told him, looking straight into his eyes. Ryoma threw the ball up into the air and served it way harder than before. Sasabi fell over on the ground before scrambling up "I quit! I quit!" he yelled before running off the court. Mika huffed in annoyance as she walked towards Ryoma. "I told you not to get hurt!" she said angrily. "Sorry Mi." Ryoma said, tugging the bridge of his cap again. Mika hugged Ryoma tightly, she was worried when he got hit with the racket. Ryoma hugged her back, quietly laughing at her. Mika stepped back and took of the cap and wiped the blood off his forehead. "Come on lets go home Ryo." She told him, tugging on his shirt. "...Yeah lets go home." Ryoma agreed, staring fondly down at the black haired girl.

"Bye Sakuno!" Mika yelled at the brown haired girl, waving. Sakuno waved back a long with Ryuzaki. "I wonder who this Mika is?" questioned Ryuzaki. "I don't know but I really like her." Sakuno stated, smiling at the black haired girl.


	3. Chapter 2

An annoying beeping sound issued from the hellish item people called an alarm clock which was placed on the table next to the bed. A hand shot up and quickly silenced the satanic noise. A small groan erupted from under the covers. Mika sat up, her loose, tousled black hair spilling over her shoulder and down her back. She raised her arms above her head, her back cracking as she did. Mika let out a little huff as she let her hands drop back down to the bed with a soft thump. Karupin, Ryoma's Himalayan cat, raised his head from his spot on Mika's lap. She ran her hand down Karupin's back through his soft fur and scratched behind his ears earning herself a content purr. As she was about to get up, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel Ryoma's face pressed into her hair. "Morning Ryo." Ryoma responded with a grunt which made Mika roll her eyes. "He's always bad in the mornings." Mika wiggled out of Ryoma's grip, Karupin grumpily moving from his comfortable position on her lap. She walked over to a closet on the other side of the room, grabbing her Seigaku girls uniform before heading to another door which lead to an en suite bathroom. Pausing with her hand on the handle, Mika turned her head towards the dazed boy sitting in the bed. His hair was messy with some strands sticking up. His nose was wrinkled and his face was almost in a pout. Mika giggled at this. "Ryo we have school today, don't fall back asleep." Ryoma looked up at her with his cat like eyes which were now clouded with sleep. "Aah." he replied. With that, she entered the bathroom, carefully placing her uniform on the counter, turning on the water in the shower.

She stripped out of her night clothes which consisted of a white t-shirts which was too big for her and short black sleeping shorts with a single white rose on the left hip. Jumping into the now warm shower, Mika washed her hair, letting the warm water surge down her face and body. When she was done with her shower, she dried and brushed her hair as well as brush her teeth. Mika wrinkled her nose at the ugly green skirt, cut off jacket and white with green trim shirt. She begrudgingly slipped into it anyway. She groaned when she started buttoning up the shirt. Mika had an extreme hourglass shaped figure so the small shirt fit around her tiny, toned waist fine but not across her chest which was "well developed" for her age. "Damn this uniform" Mika whispered under her breath. She tugged at the hem of the short skirt which fell to 2-3 inches above the knee, while walking out of the bathroom. "Ryo you can use the bathroom now." she said sighing as she gave up on magically trying to lengthen the skirt. Ryoma stumbled out of the bed and towards the bathroom door stopping just quickly enough to place a haphazard kiss on the top Mika's head. She quickly threw her long hair up into a messy, yet good looking bun.

Mika walked down stairs towards the kitchen. She heard the voices of Nanako, Nanjiro, and Rinko coming from the room. As she walked into the kitchen, a chorus of "Morning Mika" emanated from everyone. "Aah morning Rin-chan, Nana-chan, Jiro-chan." Mika was guided to the table and had food set in front of her. "You need to eat to keep your energy up for the first day of school." Nanako said, smiling at Mika. "Arigato Nana-chan." Mika gave a small smile. Nanako smiled even wider seeing this. "Hai hai, now eat up we don't want you to be hungry on your first day." By now, Ryoma had finished showering and getting ready and had made his way downstairs, seating himself down next to Mika. He slumped in his chair and rested his head on Mika's shoulder. "Wake up Ryoma, it's your first day of school." Rinko chided, placing a plate of food in front of him. "Hai hai." Ryoma waved off her scoldings. He straightened his body and started eating. Everyone finished their food in a comfortable silence, only commenting here and there. Mika looked over at the clock on the wall and stood up. "We have to go now, come on Ryoma." Ryoma got up and followed Mika to the front door. Mika pulled her black wedge sneakers while Ryoma put on his brown school shoes. They both slung their messenger bags over their shoulders. Ryoma picked up his tennis bag that was leaned up against the wall. "We're leaving now!" they both yelled back before walking out the front door.

Ryoma and Mika arrived at the school a few minutes later. Everyone was saying their greetings to their friends asking how they have been. "Hey Echizen, wait up!" Ryoma and Mika both turned around to see a kid about their age with reddish brown hair and a unibrow coming towards them. "Yo you're brand new around here aren't you. Hey are you going to play on the tennis team?" "Who's asking" Ryoma replied. The boy cleared his throat. "My name is Horio, maybe you've heard our school has one of the best teams in the country. Me, I've already played for two years at a really great tennis camp. They don't let just anyone play here you know, but I'm a cinch to make the team. Huh?!" While Horio was rambling, Ryoma had begun walking away, dragging Mika with him by her hand. Mika sweat dropped. "So rude..." She thought to herself. "Hey Echizen! Hang on!" Horio yelled after the duo. "What's this?" A guy, older than the three appeared in front of Ryoma and Mika. He had shortish black hair that was spiked up and bright purple eyes. "The little mouse isn't looking where he's going" Ryoma just stared at him. By now Horio had caught up to them and was looking back and forth between Ryoma and the purple eyed guy. "If he's not careful he's liable to end up as cat food." "Hn" Ryoma glared at the upperclassman. "Don't think I like that glare of yours." The guy said, glaring back. His face then morphed into a smile. "Oh well I can tell you're new around here so I'll let it pass this time. Just watch where you're going." The guy waved and walked away. "Who was that guy?" Horio asked incredulously. "I don't know, some goofball." Mika sweat dropped again. "Oh Ryo..." she sighed shaking her head. Ryoma was staring at the retreating figure of the upperclassman. "Wait, who are you?" Horio exclaimed, only seeing Mika right then. "Aah I'm Mika Tsubasa, nice to meet you Horio." Mika introduced herself, bowing a little and giving him a slight smile. Horio blushed profusely. "O-ohayo Tsubasa" He stuttered. Ryoma glared at the stuttering boy.

The three middle schoolers walked passed the tennis courts. "Woah! What a setup! Look at those courts! Seigaku's even better than I figured! Come on Echizen, lets join up!" Horio exclaimed excitedly. "You can forget about that. Today new members can't even register because of the second and third year matches. But who knows, maybe you could try again tomorrow." a guy with a bowl haircut explained. "Most of the freshman have already gone home, so we thought why not stay a while and pick up balls on the ground." another kid said. He had a shaved head. "Thats no fun." Horio said pointedly. "Hey over there." a voice called from the courts. An upperclassman with longish brown hair sporting a green sweat band, blue sports jacket, white t-shirt and white shorts was looking at them with a sneer. "You guys wanna join our tennis team?" he questioned snidely. "Yes sir!" the Horio and the two other boys exclaimed bowing in respect. "I'm a seventh grader, Katsuo Mizuno" the shaved head boy stated. "I'm Kachiro Kato" said the boy with the bowl haircut. "I'm Satoshi Horio. I've played great tennis for two whole years already. I can even balance a racket on the end of my nose!" Horio rambled, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey you! What's your problem? Haven't got a name?" said another black haired upperclassman towards Ryoma who just stared at him. "Can't talk? You deaf or something?" He asked rudely. Mika stepped out from behind the three boys. "I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to him like that." Mika said fuming. The brown haired upperclassman looked her body up and down. "And you are?" He questioned, smirking. "Mika Tsubasa." she replied curtly. Ryoma pulled Mika back behind him, glaring at both upperclassmen. The brown haired one put his hand on his black haired friends shoulder. "Leave him alone. Alright now we're gonna play a really fun game." "Really?" Horio questioned. "What kind of game?" "Heh I know the game." snickered the black haired guy. He held up his hand with his pointer finger up in the air. "Yeah yeah you're all going to love to play."

The brown haired upperclassman placed a can down on one of the tennis courts. "The rules are simple. You serve from the other court, if you can knock the can over in 10 shots you win 10,000 yen." Horio, Mizuno and Kato all gasped. "Thats right, it's kind of an initiation." "It'll cost you 200 yen to take the challenge. Anyone game?" Horio gave a thumbs up. "For 10,000 yen I am." "We wanna try to!" declared Mizuno and Kato. Ryoma, who was standing on the side of the court huffed and pulled Mika into a hug, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder. "We are ready to accept the challenge!" Cried out the three freshmen, bowing. "Thats the spirit." The two upperclassmen sniggerd at each other. Ryoma watched the two thoughtfully. His golden eyes calculating. Mika narrowed her eyes at them as well. "Something's not right."

"Hey Sakuno, why are you so interested in tennis all of a sudden?" Tomoka Osakada, Sakuno's redheaded best friend questioned. Sakuno blushed. "Oh but I've always liked tennis. I wanna go early to turn in my registration form." "Hey!" a voice shouted. "Did you say registration form?" A woman in a white shirt with orange red hair was walking up to them. "You're going to the tennis courts right? Thank goodness I found you. I am so totally lost!" she cried out, clasping her hands together. Sakuno and her friend looked at each other. "Oh I forgot sorry. I'm Saori Shiba, the junior editor of the pro tennis monthly magazine. We're interested in the boys team this year. I hear they have some really talented players! I'm writing about their new recruits but I can't even find the tennis courts! Can you?" She looked at the two expectantly. "Hey Shiba!" A man's voice called from behind the woman. A man wearing a green shirt, red tie and brown pants was standing a ways behind them. "What are you doing over there?" Shiba turned around. "Oh hey Mr. Inoue." "All done with your interviews?" Inoue aked. Shiba looked a bit sheepish. "Well I uh actually I haven't done any of them yet." she explained, clasping her hands again. Inoue sweat dropped. "None of them?"

Balls were scattered around the court. Kato's ball whizzed by the can. "Missed again." The brown haired upperclassmen taunted. "To bad losers. Next!" "Man oh man you guys are the worst I've ever seen!" declared Horio. Mika scoffed silently. "B-but we've never played before!" Defended Mizuno. "What do you expect from beginers?" "I don't think anyone could hit that target." Kato looked dejected. "Its too small and much too far away." "Well then watch me, I've had two years of tennis. "Serve it up!" called the Upperclassmen. Ryoma had sat down on the court floor leaning up against the fence, his hands behind his head watching. Mika was sitting on his lap, her head rested against Ryoma's chest. Every now and then, the brown haired upperclassman would glance over to them, see where Mika was and glare at Ryoma. "10,00 yen" Horio said, serving the ball. "Missed" said under his breath. He kept serving balls and they kept missing. Ryoma had relaxed more, closing his eyes and leaning back even more against the fence. "I'm losing." Horio looked worried. "Yes you are, and you've only got one left to hit." The upperclassman replied snidely. "It only takes one." Horio stated confidently. "All I've got to do is hit it just right and then-" he hit the ball. It flew through the air towards the can. "Tck" The ball skimmed the side but the can didn't even move. "Oh I'm a loser too." He hung his head in shame. "Time to settle." The upperclassman hopped down from the ref seat. Horio walked back over to Kato and Mizuno. "I must of stubbed my toe." Horio pronounced, making up and excuse. "Well, guess that means we're out 200 yen." The upperclassmen looked at the money the three held out. "What's the matter with all of you?! Can't you add?" "Read and weep my friends. This game costs 500 yen per serve plus 200 for playing. Pay up. You owe us 52,00 a piece." "Whaa! 52,00?" "Where are we going to get that kind of money?" The upperclassmen chuckled. "You better find it somewhere or else."

"Hey, you over there!" He called out to Ryoma. "To scared to try it your self?" "What a wimp he could never play on our team." The other exclaimed. Ryoma sighed. He gave Mika's hand a squeeze before standing up, making her stand up with him. "Lets get this over with." He stated boredly, running a hand through his hair. Grabbing his favorite red racket he made his way over to the courts. Horio looked worriedly at Ryoma. "Echizen, don't be a fool. You're throwing good money away." Ryoma ignored Horio's advice. "Theres no way a normal serve could knock that can over, It's too heavy." He stated bluntly. The three freshmen looked at him quizzically. Mika just smiled, closing her eyes again. The two Upperclassmen looked nervous. "What are you talking about?" "Cheater, theres rocks inside." Ryoma threw the ball into the air, then hit the ball at the can. The can fell over, spilling its contents out onto the court. Rocks fell out of the can. "Look at that! He hit the can square and knocked the top right off!" Horio cried amazed. "Cheaters! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Does your mother know you cheat?" "Shut up! My mother has nothing to do with this!" The black haired upperclassman yelled, pointing at the middle schoolers. "Tch Kid got lucky. It could happen to anyone once" The other upperclassman stated. At this, Ryoma hit balls repeatedly at the can, hitting it every time. "If I hit it 100 times will you give me 1 million yen?" He questioned hitting ball after ball at the can. "I-I can't believe I just saw that." Horio exclaimed incredulously. The upperclassmen glared at Ryoma. "Little squirt. You think your such hot stuff. Let me tell you something, you're gonna regret this!" he yelled, clenching his fists. "The only thing worse than a loser who cheats is a bad loser who cheats. Why don't you grow up?" stated Ryoma, unperturbed by the upperclassmans anger.

A tennis ball came flying out of nowhere and hit the can, denting it. The upperclassman from before when Ryoma bumped into him appeared again, wearing a yellow t-shirt. "Hey, who is that guy?" Asked Horio again. Ryoma huffed and looked away, closing his eyes. The purple eyed upperclassman stood behind Ryoma. "What are you two doing here? Hope you're not threatening them." He glared at the two. "That wouldn't be very nice and I might get mad and that would be bad for you." The two upperclassmen looked scared. "Uh actually Momo, I have to go and do something." The brown haired one said, inching away. The black haired one agreed and they both slunk away not before taking one more quick look at Mika. Ryoma began walking away too. "Hey, we're not done hot stuff." The man named Momo stated grinning. Mika giggled a bit at that.

Sakuno, Tomoka, Inoue and Shiba all walked towards the tennis courts. "Oh my gosh!" Sakuno exclaimed. She had seen Ryoma talking to Momo on the courts. "Am I dreaming? Is that Ryoma? I wonder if Mika is with him?" Sakuno clutched her cheek. "Are you kidding!? Come on lets find out!" Tomoka pulled her friend along by her arm towards the courts. "Oh it is him!" Sakuno said when she got closer. Ryoma looked over to see Tomoka and Sakuno standing in front of him. Tomoka blushed. "Oh he's looking right at me! Sakuno introduce us please." Sakuno looked surprised. "Huh? Oh this is Ryoma Echizen." "Echizen? Ryoma?" Inoue inquired. "Hey, theres been quite a lot of talk about you, but you don't look like anything special to me." Momo pronounced. Ryoma looked over his shoulder. "Who are you?" "Names Takeshi Momoshiro. I wonder if what they say about you is true. I heard you know how to do a kick serve." "No way!" Horio gasped. "What's a kick serve? Can we learn how to do it?" Kato asked. "Will it hurt?" "Wanna find out?" said Ryoma, smirking. "Lets. Shouldn't take me to long to take care of you." Stated Momo cockily.

Momo held the handle of the racket, the top touching the ground. "You call it." "I call up" Ryoma said. Kato looked at Mizuno. "What was all that?" "I haven't got a clue." replied Mizuno. "You two don't know anything do you? Guess I'll have to tell you. There deciding who's going to serve first." Horio held up his racket to show them the bottom of the handle where the letter "F" was. "See this? You spin it and when it lands it's upright of face down." Momo spun the racket. "Down, It's my choice. You can have the serve. I'll wait for it in the court over here." "Hey aren't you going to serve first?" Horio asked impatiently. "What's the point of winning the spin if you don't serve? I don't get it." Momo grinned. "I wanna see that kick serve right away." Horio was in awe. "Oh that is so cool! Momoshiro you rock!" "Call me Momo." Horio shook his head. "Aw I couldn't do that Momoshiro, but can I be the chair judge?" "Sure go ahead!" Horio scampered up the chair. Once he was comfortably seated he cleared his throat and raised his hand open palmed. "Announcing today's match between Momoshiro and Ryoma will commence with me Horio-" he kept rambling on and on about himself. Tomoka yelled at him. "Whatever Horio! Shut up and start the match already!" he cringed at the sound and then raised his hand again. "Um ok. This is a best of one set match. Service Echizen, begin play."

(Time Skip)

"Heh Made made dane." With that, Ryoma switched from his right to his left hand. "Oh yeah, That's right..." Sakuno thought out loud remembering his dominant hand. "Time out! I quit! You're way too good for me." Momo said light heartedly. Everyone gasped besides Ryoma and Mika. "Actually I only wanted to see a kick serve." "Whatever you say." Ryoma walked off the court.

Ryoma placed his racket back in his tennis bag along with his tennis clothes. "You were awesome!" Horio said. The three freshmen crowded around Ryoma. "Hey Echizen where did you learn to do all those tennis tricks?" "In a temple." He replied offhandedly. They all blinked. "Temple?" Tomoka and Sakuno walked over to Ryoma. "Will you stop pulling my arm?" asked Sakuno, a bit irked by Tomoka. Dismissing Sakuno's comment, Tomoka spoke to Ryoma. "We saw the whole match. I think you're the most incredible player I've seen in my lifetime! I'm Tomoka, Sakuno's friend." "Huh?" Ryoma looked over at Sakuno. She blushed, smiling. "Good to see you again Ryoma. Thanks for the other day." Ryoma stared at her. "Have we met before?" he asked, surprised at what she said. "I don't remember you." Sakuno started to tear up. Mika got up from where she was sitting, and where no one had noticed her. She quietly walked up to Ryoma, hugging him from behind. "Aah Remember Ryo? She's the girl from the train." He pulled her in front and pulled her to him into another hug. "Who are you?!" Questioned Tomoka rudely. Momo and Ryuzaki, who had just come, were listening in as well. Mika turned around and softly smiled. Ryoma still held her hand in his. "My name is Mika Tsubasa, Ryoma's best friend. Nice to meet you." She gave a little bow. "O-oh" Tomoka stuttered, blushing. "Nice to meet you too." "Aah Sakuno, nice to see you again. Sorry about Ryoma he's... forgetful." Mika smiled and gave Ryoma a friendly nudge. He huffed but gave her a quick, but genuine smile which no one else but her saw. "Thats ok Mika." Sakuno said smiling at the raven haired girl. Mika looked around. "We have to go now, bye everyone." Ryoma and her grabbed their bags and his tennis bag and left.

Ryoma and Mika walked back to the temple. Ryoma stopped suddenly. "Oh! Now I remember!" Mika laughed. She didn't even have to ask about what. She knew he had just remembered who Sakuno was. Mika tucked herself under Ryoma's arm while he rested his chin on her head. They walked like that in comfortable silence all the way home, just enjoying each other's company. Nanjiro smiled knowingly to himself when he saw the pair walking together in the orange glow of the setting sun. "I hope he realizes it soon."


	4. Chapter 3

_Italics _means thought  
**Bold **means spoken in English

**-**

Ryoma and Mika walked along the outside of the tennis court. Ryoma was carrying her piggyback style, her cheek pressed up between his shoulder blades. Her long black curls were thrown up into a high ponytail and her hands and legs were slung loosely around Ryoma's neck and waist. Tomoka looked out the window of her classroom. " Sakuno, look it's him!" Sakuno stood up from her seat and walked over to Tomoka. "It sure is." "He's so cool! Don't you think so Sakuno?" Tomoka exclaimed. They both watched Ryoma gently place the sleepy Mika on the bench by the side of the courts before joining the others. "I guess." Sakuno smiled and look back out at Ryoma who was watching Mika carefully.

"I hate morning practice. I sure hope I can stay awake through my classes." Kachiro exclaimed folding his hands behind his head. Horio looked side to side before closing his eyes with a smirk. "Well, don't you think it was kind of weird what happened to Momoshiro, I heard he trashed his leg and he's been totally off his game ever since that happened." "What?!" Kachiro and Katsuo stared at Horio dumbfoundead. "He was hurt?" "Couldn't tell from the way he was playing. He's so awesome!" "That's why he was hanging around the other day." Horio moved his arms around animatedly while he was explaining. Mika sighed, dodging his flailing arms. "This kid has so much energy..." She thought while sweat dropping. She yawned slightly, stretching gracefully like a cat. Horio continued spewing information. "Meanwhile the rest of the team had matches and were on the bus." Ryoma had stayed silent throughout the whole conversation, tying his shoes. "Echizen! Aren't you listening?" Horio looked at Ryoma, annoyance etched across his face. "Not now." Ryoma replied dismissively. Horio looked at him for a couple more seconds before snorting. "Your loss. It's not like a new kid is going to have a chance to play first string anyway. It's all different here at Seigaku. Just look at em all. The ranked regulars aren't even here yet and you can already see how awesome everyone is." "I just can't wait to see the top guys hit the courts!" Kachiro exclaimed, sounding excited. "It should be really great!" Horio turned to Katsuo and Kachiro. "And hey, did you hear the best part? Each month there's a school ranking challenge with every regular position up for grabs! That's the reason Seigaku is so good." A few guys around the same age as them walked up to Horio. "Hey how do you know so much? I'm impressed!" "Well I mean it's nothing, nothing at all really." Horio was rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. Ryoma sighed. "Some Guys are all talk." A black haired upperclassman walked over to where Ryoma and Mika were standing. "Hey, are you the new hotshot seventh grader?" "Hotshot seventh grader?" Ryoma looked over at Horio who was showing off to the other seventh graders. "Oh he's there." Ryoma pointed to Horio. "He's that one? Shoulda guessed. Catch the dorky clothes that guy's got on." The upperclassman sneered. Ryoma moved to hug Mika from behind. Mika sighed. "You know I think he was talking about you..." She trailed off, watching him walk towards Horio. She could feel Ryoma shrugging his shoulders and laughed at her best friends nonchalance.

"Someday, I'm gonna take captain Tezuka out for a game, and know what? I'm gonna beat him!" Horio laughed to himself. "Hey Horio." All the seventh graders looked scared. The upperclassman who had been talking to Ryoma had walked over to them. "Don't get too cocky yet kid. You think you're gonna enter as the ranking challenger this year? It's not even possible till your second year. The only think first years get to do is retrieve balls. The team is recruited from 9th graders and 8th graders maybe." "Thats not..." Horio trailed off. "You pickin on the seventh graders?" The upperclassman who Ryoma had met the day before known as Arai came up behind the black haired upperclassman "Hey this is the new kid we've heard about." Arai looked at the black haired guy. "No, no it it's not. He's not the one who beat Momoshiro the other day. Over there. He's the one with the white hat who's standing with the black haired girl." They both looked over and saw Ryoma bouncing a tennis ball on his racket while Mika had moved to sit on the ground, leaning against the fence and was reading her book about tennis. She had looked up from her book to see what all the yelling was all about and scoffed at all the Upperclassmen that surrounded the seventh graders. The black haired upperclassmans face turned to one of enraged. "Why that little monster! He's trying to make me look dumb! I'll show him!" Horio gave a sigh of relief, glad they weren't focused on him anymore.

Ryoma and the trio were changing out of their tennis outfits in the guys locker room. "And you know what, captain Tezuka went undefeated all last year! He is the coolest!" Horio had his arms raised in a shrug motion. "Thats really nothing for you to brag about." Kachiro turned around to look at Horio with a pointed look. Horio sweat dropped. "But Echizen, it's not such a good idea to make the upperclassmen angry." Ryoma just continued with tying his shoes. "Arai didn't like that stunt you pulled this afternoon. He'll really be going for you. It's true you know... wh-whaa..Whaa!?" Horio began freaking out, pointing towards Ryoma. "Are you crazy!? That jacket you're sitting on belongs to... Arai!" Horio whispered the name like he was going to pop up from nowhere and beat them up. Ryoma got up from his seat on the bench. "Huh? Oh, not a problem." Ryoma walked away while Horio babbled on. "It is a problem! A huge problem!" Horio took a step, following Ryoma out when he stepped on a racket. He lifted up his foot, falling backwards then regaining his balance. "Uh oh. Aw now I've gone and stepped on somebody's racket!" He picked it up examining it. "Aw that rackets really old anyway." Kachiro pointed out. "No kidding I wouldn't worry about it." Katsuo agreed with Kachiro, both waiting for Horio. "Thats good alright. If this racket belonged to Arai I'd be toast." Horio placed the old racket in one of the empty lockers. "Let's go guys we're late to class!" Horio exclaimed, opening the door and ran straight into Arai who had Mika's wrist in a tight grasp. She was glaring up at him with hatred in her emerald green eyes. "Watch where you're going punk!" Arai yelled at Horio. Mika had been standing outside of the locker rooms waiting for them when Arai had come and tried to talk to her. When she didn't reply and turned to leave, he had snached her wrist with his hand, pulling her forward towards him. Ryoma walked by Kachiro, Katsuo and Horio, who was on the ground, and passed Arai, glaring at him. "Hey." Ryoma said harshly. He pulled Mika's hand out of his grip and started walking away. Arai turned around towards Ryoma and Mika's retreating figures. "You there, what the hell was that? Don't you know how you're supposed to talk to an upperclassman?" Ryoma just walked away, without giving another glance to Arai. "Why you!" Arai glared at Ryoma, not knowing what else to say. Horio looked between all the upperclassmen standing in the doorway and made a run for it, Kachiro and Katsuo following suit. Mika massaged her wrist, glaring at the bruise that was forming. The five of them walked away to class leaving behind an angry sempai.

"Well Tezuka, can you divide the players into four even brackets? With so many good players the challenge is really gonna be a lot of fun this year. This bunch is very tough." Ryuzaki smiled at a brown haired guy wearing the Seigaku tennis jacket. He tapped the back of the pen against the desk. "Yeah." Another guy with short black hair stood a couple desks behind where Ryuzaki sat. He looked a lot like Katsuo and wore a jacket just like The brown haired man. "Speaking of which Ms. Ryuzaki, isn't there a rookie you're kind of rooting for? A seventh grader maybe?" Ryuzaki smiled. "It just doesn't matter how I feel. In our school seventh graders can't play until summer, right Tezuka?" Ryuzaki and the black haired guy looked towards Tezuka. "I think it should be really up to the captain to decide." Tezuka silently continued writing on his sheet of paper.

Horio doubled over, resting his hands on his knees. He was breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face. He gave up and flopped down on his butt much like Kachiro and Katsuo had already done. Ryoma was still standing normally, sweating a little. "Why are they torturing us like this?! Practice is killing me!" Horio questioned dramatically. Ryoma grabbed the edge of his beloved white cap, tugging it down. "It's really not that bad." "No letting up!" They all went back to training having just been yelled at for stopping. Katsuo held Kachiro's feet down and Horio held Ryoma's. "37..." Kachiro fell backwards, not able to continue doing sit ups. "I gotta stop!" Ryoma sat up once more, propping himself up with his hands. "50." Mika continued to do sit ups. She wasn't part of the tennis team but joined in on the non tennis activities such as running or sit ups. Horio got a worried look on his face. "Hey Echizen, turn around, it's them!" "Who?" Ryoma turned around to answer his question. Arai and the black haired sempai stood over the two. Arai scoffed and looked towards Ryoma's tennis bag. "Who the hell does this kid think he is with three rackets." "Echizen I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you just because you can play a little. The regulars rock and they're coming back today. Don't worry, I'll put you in your place before they get back." Arai walked forward towards Echizen. Katsuo pointed behind Arai. "Look!" Kachiro turned around and his eyes brightened. "Hey they're here!" Horio exclaimed. Everyone turned around to see five guys all dressed in the Seigaku jacket and pants except for the one in the lead. Everyone gasped and scrambled to get up. They all bowed to the regulars. "Hello sir!" The black haired regular who was talking to Tezuka and Ryuzaki turned to them. "Everyone relax. Just find a court and start to hit. We'll give you a chance to show us your best stuff." Horio looked over at Kachiro and Katsuo "You know that's captain Tezuka right? He went totally undefeated last year!" "Yeah! He's really great." "He's amazing!" Katsuo had an awed look on his face. Mika rolled her eyes but chuckled at everyones reactions. She headed to the bench since they were starting the tennis part of the practice. "Hey Oishi, hey lets you and me go out and hit some balls." The brown haired regular with the closed eyes picked up a basket of tennis balls. Oishi, the black short haired guy faced him. "Yeah that sounds like a good idea. Lets warm up before Tezuka gets here." Everyone sweat dropped and gave Horio an annoyed look. "I don't think that was Tezuka." Horio blushed, whistling innocently and rubbing the back of his neck.

Everyone watched in awe as Oishi served the balls to the regulars who aimed them at the basket, not missing one. "Come on!" Oishi shouted encouragingly. "Come on Fuji keep your feet moving." "Amazing..." Kachiro said trailing off. Horio was wided eyed. "Wow, no matter where he hits it those guys... can return it right into the basket." Katsuo blinked. "I've never seen anyone who could do that." Kachiro nodded his head. "Thats why they're on Seigaku's top team! They're awesome!" Ryoma watched them, his face as void of emotion as ever. "Our teams good alright. Do you get it yet. Hey you Echizen, you may be able to hit a decent kick serve but that doesn't guarantee you'll make the team." They glared at each other.

"Damn! I shanked it!" Oishi watched the ball he just shanked fly upwards then down towards Ryoma. Ryoma got ready, pulling his arm back and smashed it. It flew towards Oishi right into the basket of tennis balls he was serving from. Everyone looked at Ryoma, Kachiro even dropping his racket. The regulars looked, intrigued by this seventh grader prodige. Mika smiled at Ryoma's showing off ability. Ryoma stood up straight, smirking at Arai. "Now that wasn't so hard." Arai grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking Ryoma towards himself causing Mika to stand up fast, ready to lash out at Arai if necessary. "What you think you can show off here? I'll show you! You're gonna learn who's on top of the ladder round here!" "What's going on guys?" They both turned to look at the new voice. Tezuka stood in the tennis courts doorway, his hands in his pockets. "Captain!" Everyone bowed again. "Sir!" He set his intense gaze on Airai and Ryoma. "You can't act like this. I want both of you to take 10 laps." Arai started to complain. "But you don't understand I was just-" Tezuka cut him off and gave him a sharp glare. "20 laps. And as far as the rest of you go, eighth and ninth graders rally, seventh grade pick up balls." "Yes sir!" Horio smiled, his eyebrow raising. "Aw he's so cool." Oishi walked towards the gate. "Ok lets go." He and Tezuka walked out the gate leaving everyone else to practice. Arai glared after them. "That kid! I'm gonna make him pay! Him and his hat." His black haired friend laughed, crossing his arms. "Man did you look dumb." Arai turned his head sharply, glaring at the two. The black haired man held his hands up in surrender. Arai noticed Ryoma's bag sitting on the bench. He smirked and laughed to himself. "Hey guys, comere a minute."

Ryoma finished running his laps. He came to a stop in front of where Mika was sitting and where all the other seventh graders were practicing their swing. "Keep it going! Low to high!" "Hey Ryoma. Did you finish 20 laps?" "You don't even look tired!" Kachiro and Katsuo looked at Ryoma but continued swinging their rackets. Horio turned his head too. "Seventh graders have to practice topspin, get started." "...yeah..." Ryoma looked around sounding uninterested. "Hey what's wrong with you? Did you forget your racket?" Ryoma continued searching the bench where he left his tennis bag. "No" "Pretty dumb to come to practice without a racket." Arai stood there with two other upperclassmen beside him. Mika narrowed her eyes at them. "They are up to something..." The one crouching spoke up. "Think you're better than everyone else huh?" The other one, standing smirked. "Well he is the hot shot rookie." They all laughed at that. Ryoma just looked at them, his hat shading his eyes. "Better stop goofing off!" Horio watched the interaction, sweating. "Oh no! Here we go again!" Arai snorted, sticking his hands in his pockets, trying to look cool. "If you think you're that good I'll play you." He smirked a little bit more. "Ah damn it I forgot. Thats right, you don't have a racket to play with." The two other upperclassmen laughed, looking at each other. The one crouching handed Arai an old racket. "Here I've got one." Arai threw it at Ryoma who caught it in his hands. "Hey kid, looks like your day." "Woah I can't believe it!" Horio exclaimed looking at the racket. "It's the one from the locker room!" Kachiro examined the racket. "You can't! The strings are old and the frame is broken! You can't play with that!" Arai dismissed all the comments and looked at Ryoma. "So hot shot, what's wrong with you now? What's the deal? Don't you wanna play with me any more?" Ryoma just glared at him from under his hat. Mika clenched her fists at her sides angrily. "How low can they stoop?!"

Eji looked up from the tennis court he was on. "Hey look!" "Huh?" Inu looked up at Eji then followed his gaze to where Arai was. "Arai is picking on the new seventh graders again." Inu looked back at Eji. "... What do you think we should do?" He inquired. Eji closed his eyes frowning. He scratched his head, thinking. "I don't know but captain Tezuka's gonna be furious!"

Fuji Shusuke, a brown haired guy with closed eyes smiled and chuckled at the sight of Arai asking Ryoma to a tennis match. "Man!" Exclaimed Kaidoh who was wearing an orange bandana. Both of them wore the regular shirts.

"Seems to me that racket is perfect for a showboat like you! Now learn your lesson and shape up little man!" Arai sneered at Ryoma. "Then if you're lucky your rackets will mysteriously reappear." He laughed maniacally at his joke. Mika could see Ryoma getting pissed. His rackets were very important to him. Mika had gotten them for him for one of his birthdays. He walked towards a court, his eyes shadowed by his cap. "When you don't have it I guess you have to take it." Arai turned around to face where Ryoma had just walked. "What was that?! Are you accusing me of something twerp?!" Ryoma reached the net, the racket resting on his shoulder. "Whatever. Big shot lets just play."

Fuji still stood there, watching this whole thing go down. "Hey, I'll stick around for this." "I thought you'd say that" Eji exclaimed, looking warily at Fuji.

Arai grinned at Ryoma from the other side of the net. "You've got guts kid! Too bad I'm still gonna have to take you apart." The trio looked worriedly at Ryoma, sweating from the anxiety. "Don't underestimate Ryoma." The three jumped at the voice. Mika had stood up and was standing next to Horio. "He will be fine."

Sakuno and Tomoka walked by the courts talking and laughing. Sakuno sudenly stopped causing Tomoka to bump into her. "It's him!" she said motioning towards Ryoma. "... What do you think is going on?" Tomoka asked.

"My serve!" Arai yelled hitting the ball hard. Ryoma ran towards it, hitting it back. It flew up into the air and hit the net, not making it to the other side. "I knew it!" Horio grew more worried. "He can't play with that broken up racket!" "What's the matter runt? You still think you can keep up with me? Lets see what you can do with this!" Arai served the ball again, harder this time. Ryoma hit it back but this time the ball went over Arai's head and way out of the court. "Its not good!" Horio exclaimed. "He has absolutely no control over that. He need to have his own racket!"

"We shouldn't let this blood bath go on for too long." Inu pointed out. "I'm with you." Eji agreed. Fuji looked thoughtful, his hand cupping his chin. "Hmm... That old piece of junk, it just can't get any spin."

Ryoma tapped the strings of the racket with his knuckles. "Hmm now I've got it." Arai looked at Ryoma incredulously. "Lets see your stuff stud. Try to return this!" Arai served it again, confident in his plan against Ryoma. Ryoma drew back his arm and sent the tennis ball flying. It landed in front of Arai and bounced past him at an amazingly fast pace.

(Time Skip)

Arai fell to his knees on the court. "I can't believe my eyes!" Horio and the others were amazed. "Echizen is totally that good! He probably could even play with a frying pan!" Mika looked over at Horio, sweat dropping. "A... A frying pan?" She shook it off and smiled. "Told you so. Ryoma's not cocky for nothing." Horio blushed at her smile.

"Hey that was a bad move. Making the eighth grade team look dumb." Kaidoh walked off, hands in his pockets. Inu looked after Kaidohs retreating figure. "Come on Kaidoh." "I'm outa here."

Ryoma pulled at the collar of his shirt. "So, I guess it's time to turn up the heat." "What..." Arai looked scared, backing up a little. "Look!" Horio pointed towards the racket. "Echizen has a broken string!" "Where?" Ryoma looked at the racket where Horio was pointing to. "Oh, no worries." He stretched his arm out then placed the racket on his shoulder. Grinning almost evilly he looked up towards Arai. "We're not finished playing yet Arai. You ready?" Arai moved back even more. "Uhh no..." His friends glanced worriedly at Arai. "Let it go already." "Well this match doesn't even count right?" Ryoma brought the tennis ball up in his hand, grinning. "No way."

Tezuka and Oishi watched the courts from a classroom window. "So captain what do you think?" He turned walking back into the classroom. "I can't have anyone break the rules. Have everyone run laps." "What? Even the Regulars?" "Everyone." Tezuka shut the door behind him, leaving Oishi and Ryuzaki in the classroom. Oishi looked back out the window. "Huh well well well." "What's this?" Ryuzaki looked at the papers Tezuka left behind. "So he picked Echizen." Ryuzaki smiled to herself.


	5. AN

Oh my gosh! I am sosososo sorry for not uploading for forever! I've been traveling and then had computer issues and other difficulties but I shouldn't be making up excuses! Anyway I am trying to upload the third chapter (Finally! I know! I'm slacking!) but I have a request for all you lovely readers out there who read this story and have a Wattpad account... I have a wattpad accoung (if you hadn't guessed already) and have posted this story on there also. I have been informed by another lovely reader of mine on Wattpad of a PoT Watty Awards thats going on and have entered my story! I know I don't really have a chance at winning it since there are many well written, wonderful stories entered as well but I thought it might be fun just to enter it just because. It would mean the world to me if all of you go and vote for me! ^.^ I know its a lot to ask but hopefully you can find some time to do it. All the information about the voting dates can be located at the link I have provided on my profile. And if any of you have a PoT ff, you should enter it and tell me cause I might vote for your story ~.^ Thank you so much! And I am so sorry for not uploading for so long! ^ I hope you all can forgive me! Thank you! Love you all!


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